1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to environmental systems and more particularly, to a system for the control, capture, and disposal of volatile organic compounds ("VOC's") and other substances in spray booths. The system embodies the use of air curtains to retain VOC's and other substances within a defined spray booth interior and prohibit their dispersion to the surrounding environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Capturing VOC's includes anything that is used to keep solvent vapors from becoming fugitive. Devices that can accomplish that objective include such things as exhaust hoods, side baffles and the like. Good capture results can be achieved by using a large quantity of air to deal with a relatively small quantity of VOC's. Unfortunately, this is an expensive operation and not practicable for most manufacturers.
Particularly troublesome are vapors emitted from paint and finish spraying processes utilized, for example, in the automobile and furniture industry. The articles to be painted and finished are confined in a small enclosed area, and operators may spray numerous coats of various surface coverings over a period of time. As these coatings are applied, vapors arise from the drying process and need to be evacuated from the working area as quickly as possible. A great deal of research has been done in this area, and reference is made to an article by Roy J. McIlwee and Richard C. Sharp entitled THE BASICS OF VOC CAPTURE SYSTEMS as well as a technical paper published by The Society of Manufacturing Engineers labelled VC87-649 and entitled VOC EMISSION CONTROLS FOR PAINT SPRAY BOOTHS for background information and current practices used in this technology. The problems encountered in this field are identified and discussed in detail, and various solutions are proposed. While the problems for the most part can be solved and reduced significantly, the undertaking is inordinately expensive and available therefore to only the most affluent manufacturers.
The present invention addresses the need to economize the process of containing VOC's and other substances arising as a result of the spraying operation and disposing of them efficiently and economically.